


broken promises

by rubbercip



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Hinata cries, M/M, Rated teen for swearing, it's only a spoiler for anime-onlys, manga spoilers i guess but like? they're old, pining Kenma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24603472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubbercip/pseuds/rubbercip
Summary: karasuno loses nationals right before the battle at the trash heap; second year hinata thinks he let kenma down
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma
Comments: 2
Kudos: 89





	broken promises

Kenma remembers Nekoma’s trip to nationals last year as being one of the best memories to come out of his time playing volleyball. Sure, they hadn’t won, they honestly hadn’t even come close. But the game against Karasuno had left him eager to play them again, veins electrifying, something he hadn’t felt playing the sport before.

It might’ve had something to do with how well Karasuno played, and honestly, it could’ve also been from how well his own team played; both were at the top of their games, and being able to participate in the battle at the trash heap was quite an amazing thing to experience. All of the players were monstrously good in their own ways and Kenma found himself a little excited to learn how to take them down in his third year. However, whether Kenma would admit it or not, he’s almost positive that the reason he’s so excited for the rematch at this year’s nationals is because he’ll get to play Hinata again.

Playing against Hinata Shouyou was like going against a final boss for Kenma, skill-wise. He’d grown so much within just a year of high school, and Kenma was positive that with another year, he’d be next to unstoppable if his team was anything like what they were previously. But for Hinata specifically, the feelings ran deeper than just the game. 

The boy was a ball of warm energy, brighter than the sun and a true optimist through and through. Kenma saw the effect Hinata had had on a countless number of people- he touched everyone he met, and he had such a positive competitive spirit that playing him was always an experience. One that Kenma hadn’t wanted to end, and one that he was greatly looking forward to partaking in once more.

Qualifiers finally rolled around for both of them, Hinata’s a week before Kenma’s own. They both texted each other frequently throughout the events, and by the end of the qualifiers, they’d both been excited to tell the other that their respective team had moved on. Even better, nationals set them up to play against each other once more down the line. ‘We’ll see you on the court, but I’ll try to watch your other games too, Kenma!!!!’ Hinata had texted, to which Kenma had replied with ‘see you’. They just had to get through a few rounds of other teams before they ran into one another It was easier said than done, but it was doable; they just had to make it to the fourth round.

As far as Nekoma went, things went as Kenma had predicted they had. The first game was fairly easy, the next one was significantly harder, and the third one was almost impossible. But his team had turned out on top, a final spike from Lev signifying the end of the match and solidifying their 2:1 win. 

Kenma was exhausted, but found himself smiling as he walked off the court with his team. He needed to rest up a bit, but wanted to see if Karasuno was done with their match yet. Nudging Yamamoto’s arm, Kenma said quietly, “I’m gonna go see how Shouyou’s team is doing; make sure they all hydrate and eat something light.”

“I should be the one telling you that,” Yamamoto snorted, “Text us how the crow’s are doing, Fukunaga and I wanna stay updated.” With a nod, Kenma started eating his banana as he walked through the crowds, going to find the side gym that Karasuno was playing in. It wasn’t hard to find, but by the way people were filing out, the game was already over. 

“What an upset,” a player from some school he’d never heard of said to a teammate, “I thought Karasuno had it for sure!” Kenma didn’t look up from the ground where he was staring, but his eyes did widen a bit as he heard the other guy answer, “For sure, but those twins weren’t fuckin’ around today. Good for Inarizaki!”

Kenma froze, for a moment, and he had to shake his head to clear his head. There was no way Karasuno had lost, he tried to remind himself, he must’ve misunderstood the passing conversation. But, he walked through the doors to the gym, and what he’d heard had been correct; Karasuno had been eliminated by Inarizaki, the final set points being 1-2.

The game had ended so recently that the teams were still on the court, and it was evident who had won based on the team’s moods: the Inarizaki team was out of breath but beaming, while Karasuno’s boys were devastated, some of them crying and other ones looking down silently. The sight of Hinata crying against his team’s manager was enough to make Kenma’s chest ache.

He stayed near the doors to the gym, waiting for the team meetings to be done. He texted Fukunaga what happened, then just played on his phone until the teams began to pour out. Kenma got a good look at the Inarizaki team, and one of the twins even tried talking to him before Kenma excused himself.

Kenma met Hinata’s eyes, and he saw as Hinata seemed to fall apart all over again. His face fell further as he felt tears starting to form in his eyes once more, chest heaving slightly as he made his way to Kenma. 

“K-Kenma…” Hinata started, trying to smile and hide how upset he was over this, but he was failing miserably. He looked like he was trying to find the words once more before his face crumpled again and he fell against Kenma, wrapping his arms around the setter’s neck tightly before he let himself cry softly against his neck.

Kenma wasn’t the most affectionate person, not by a long shot. And he definitely wasn’t a fan of how sweaty they both were, Hinata’s forehead damp against the crook of his neck and his arms the same as they held him. But he couldn’t find anything less important to him in that moment than any of that. He hugged Hinata back tightly, hugging his waist and holding him as close as possible, rubbing his back softly in an attempt to comfort him.

“I-I’m sorry,” Hinata finally tried to choke out, “The promise, Kenma- I’m so sorry I broke the promise-”  
“Sho,” Kenma said softly, “Don’t apologize. You played your best, right?” Hinata nodded against him, and Kenma smiled just a bit, “Then it’ll be okay.”

Hinata pulled back, just enough so he could see Kenma’s face; he didn’t seem to mind the close proximity, but now that Kenma had noticed it, his cheeks dusted pink. 

“This was… you’re a third year, Kenma, I wanted this for you,” Hinata admitted. He pulled out of the hug, wiping his eyes and sighing before he spoke again, “For us too, sure. For our third years, for me, for us. But, mostly, I wanted us to play again for you. I didn’t… we didn’t…”

Kenma was a bit taken aback. Hinata kept speaking. He finished off his thoughts with, “I wanted you to be as excited about a game as last year, and… and I wanted to play against you one last time…”

“Shouyou,” he breathed softly, “For me… volleyball is over after this nationals, you’re right. But I’m not as connected to the sport as I am with the people I’ve met through it. I still talk to Kuroo. I’ll probably still talk with Fukunaga and Yamamoto after this, and against my will, I know Lev will still be in my life.” He offered another small smile, “Playing against you would’ve been nice, but that doesn’t mean we won’t still talk after this.”

Hinata took a second to take the words in, and he began to smile a bit himself. Kenma liked him best when he was smiling. “You mean it?”

“Of course,” Kenma affirmed, then found himself being hugged again. He rolled his eyes as he grinned, big and genuine as he returned the gesture.

“I’ll do my best next year, Kenma! You’ll have to come watch some of our games!” Already, he seemed to have moved a bit away from his sadness and began to focus on what was next. That was one of the traits that made him so dangerous in this game, Kenma thought absently.

Kenma nodded, “I will. But you have to promise me one more thing.”

Immediately, Hinata answered, “Anything.” Kenma pulled out of the hug, making sure they were making eye contact as his smile got wider.

“Stay interesting, Shouyou.”

**Author's Note:**

> kinda ooc and also really bad as an angst lmao i'll work on it


End file.
